Wisconsin Extortion and Blackmail Laws: Penalties (2026)

Yes. Extortion and blackmail are felonies in Wisconsin, though neither word is the name of the offense. Wis. Stat. 943.30, Threats to injure or accuse of crime, makes it a Class H felony (up to 6 years) to maliciously threaten to accuse someone of a crime or to injure their person, property or business with intent to extort money or compel an act, and 943.31 makes threatening to reveal humiliating information, true or false, a Class I felony. Since 2025 Wisconsin Act 48, a separate statute, 942.095, makes sexual extortion a felony graded from Class I to Class B.

Information last verified on October 17, 2026. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers Wisconsin's criminal statutes on threats to injure or accuse of crime (Wis. Stat. 943.30), threats to communicate derogatory information (943.31), sexual extortion (942.095) and related offenses, the felony classes in 939.50, and the civil action in 895.439. It does not cover what to do if you are being threatened or how to get images removed (see our sextortion scams guide), the crime of sharing intimate images itself (see revenge porn laws by state), federal offenses (covered on our extortion and blackmail laws by state hub), or local ordinances.

What is extortion in Wisconsin?

Wisconsin treats extortion as stand-alone crimes in chapter 943, not as a grade of theft. The main offense, Wis. Stat. 943.30(1), reads:

"Whoever, either verbally or by any written or printed communication, maliciously threatens to accuse or accuses another of any crime or offense, or threatens or commits any injury to the person, property, business, profession, calling or trade, or the profits and income of any business, profession, calling or trade of another, with intent thereby to extort money or any pecuniary advantage whatever, or with intent to compel the person so threatened to do any act against the person's will or omit to do any lawful act, is guilty of a Class H felony."

The offense has three parts:

• Malice, with the threat made verbally or in a written or printed communication.
• A listed threat or act: to accuse (or accusing) another of any crime or offense, or to injure (or injuring) the person, property, business, profession, calling or trade of another, or the profits and income of a business.
• One of two purposes: to extort money or "any pecuniary advantage whatever," or to compel the person threatened "to do any act against the person's will or omit to do any lawful act."

Because of the second purpose, the statute's words reach demands that are not for money.

Is blackmail a separate crime in Wisconsin?

Blackmail is not the name of either Wisconsin offense. The offense closest to the everyday meaning of blackmail is 943.31, Threats to communicate derogatory information:

"Whoever maliciously threatens, with intent to extort money or any pecuniary advantage whatever, or with intent to compel the person so threatened to do any act against the person's will, to disseminate or to communicate to anyone information, whether true or false, that would humiliate or injure the reputation of the threatened person or another is guilty of a Class I felony."

The section adds that "information" includes "any photograph, exposed film, motion picture, videotape, or data that represents a visual image, a sound recording, or any data that represents or produces an audio signal."

Wisconsin's theft statute, 943.20, covers taking or retaining another's property without consent and obtaining title by a knowingly false representation, among other forms, but its subsection (1) contains no clause for obtaining property by threat. For how Wisconsin grades theft by value, see Wisconsin theft laws.

Wisconsin extortion penalties

The ranges come from the felony-class section, Wis. Stat. 939.50(3): "For a Class B felony, imprisonment not to exceed 60 years"; for Class G, "a fine not to exceed $25,000 or imprisonment not to exceed 10 years, or both"; for Class H, "a fine not to exceed $10,000 or imprisonment not to exceed 6 years, or both"; for Class I, "a fine not to exceed $10,000 or imprisonment not to exceed 3 years and 6 months, or both"; and for Class F, "a fine not to exceed $25,000 or imprisonment not to exceed 12 years and 6 months, or both." These are statutory maximums.

Is extortion a felony in Wisconsin?

Yes. A completed violation of 943.30 or 943.31 is a felony whatever the amount demanded; neither section has value tiers. The general attempt statute changes the picture for an unsuccessful attempt. Under 939.32(1)(bm), whoever attempts to commit a Class I felony, other than one to which a penalty enhancement statute listed in 973.01(2)(c)2.a. or b. is being applied, "is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor," which carries "a fine not to exceed $10,000 or imprisonment not to exceed 9 months, or both" (939.51(3)(a)). For other attempted felonies, such as an attempted Class H felony, 939.32(1g) sets the maximum fine at "one-half of the maximum fine for the completed crime" and, where neither 939.62(1) nor 961.48 is being applied, the maximum term at one-half of the maximum term for the completed crime.

What kinds of threats count?

Between them, the two main sections cover:

• a threat to accuse another of any crime or offense (943.30);
• a threat of injury to the person, property, business, profession, calling or trade of another, or to the profits and income of a business (943.30);
• using, or threatening to use, another person's patient health care records (943.30(5)(b)); and
• a threat to disseminate or communicate information, "whether true or false," that would humiliate or injure the reputation of the threatened person or another, including photographs, video and sound recordings (943.31).

Neither section names a threat to report someone's immigration status. Threats involving intimate images are also reached by the sexual extortion statute discussed below.

Is it extortion to threaten to sue, report someone, or post a bad review unless they pay?

The statutes answer this only through their text:

• Reporting to police. A malicious threat "to accuse ... another of any crime or offense," made with intent to extort money or any pecuniary advantage or to compel an act, is listed in 943.30(1).
• A bad review or embarrassing disclosure. 943.31 lists a malicious threat to communicate information, "whether true or false," that would humiliate or injure reputation, made with intent to extort or compel.
• A lawsuit. A threat to file a civil lawsuit is not among the threats either section lists.

Both sections require that the threat be made maliciously. Neither contains a claim-of-right or lawful-demand exception in its text. One narrow exclusion sits in a different section: Wis. Stat. 943.245(7), part of the civil action for worthless checks, states that "A person is not criminally liable under s. 943.30 for any civil action brought in good faith under this section."

Is sextortion a crime in Wisconsin?

Yes. 2025 Wisconsin Act 48, enacted December 8, 2025 and published December 9, 2025, created Wis. Stat. 942.095, Sexual extortion, an act "relating to: extortion, sexual extortion, and providing a penalty." Under 942.095(2), it is a Class I felony to do any of the following:

"(a) Threatens to injure the property or reputation of another person with the intent to coerce that person to engage in sexual conduct or to produce an intimate representation of that person. (b) Threatens to commit violence against another person with the intent to coerce that person to engage in sexual conduct or to produce an intimate representation of that person. (c) Threatens to distribute an intimate representation of another person with the intent to coerce that person to engage in sexual conduct, to produce another intimate representation of that person, to provide the payment of money, property, services, or any other thing of value to the actor, or to do or refrain from doing any act against that person's will."

Paragraph (c) reaches the common financial sextortion pattern: a threat to share an intimate image unless the person pays or sends more images. The grade rises with the circumstances:

• Class H (942.095(3)) if, as a result of the violation, the victim engages in sexual conduct, produces an intimate representation, provides payment of money, property, services or any other thing of value to the actor, or suffers great bodily harm; or "If the victim is under the age of 18 years at the time of the violation, the actor is not more than 48 months older than the victim."
• Class G (942.095(4)) if the actor was previously convicted of a sexually violent offense as defined in 980.01(6); if the victim is under 18 at the time of the violation and the actor is more than 48 months older than the victim; or if the violation was committed during the course of a child abduction in violation of 948.30.
• Class B (942.095(5)) "if the victim, as a direct result of the violation, dies."

When the person threatened is a child. Separately, Wis. Stat. 948.05(1)(a), sexual exploitation of a child, applies to whoever, with knowledge of the character and content of the sexually explicit conduct involving the child, "Employs, uses, persuades, induces, entices, or coerces any child to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of recording or displaying in any way the conduct." Except as provided in 948.05(2p)(b), which makes it a Class F felony when the offender is under 18 at the time of the offense, it is a Class C felony (948.05(2p)(a)), punishable by up to 40 years, a fine of up to $100,000, or both (939.50(3)(c)).

Civil action. 2025 Wisconsin Act 215 (enacted April 8, 2026, published April 9, 2026) created Wis. Stat. 895.439. Under subsection (1), "Any person who suffers physical injury to his or her person, emotional distress, or loss of his or her property by reason of conduct that is prohibited under s. 942.095 has a civil cause of action against the person who caused the physical injury, emotional distress, or loss." Subsection (2) lets the personal representative of a person whose death results from suicide bring a wrongful death action against a person who engaged in conduct prohibited under 942.095 "if the prohibited conduct was a substantial causal factor in the suicide of the deceased person." Under subsection (5), a civil action may be brought "regardless of whether there has been a criminal action related to the conduct that is prohibited under s. 942.095 and regardless of the outcome of any such criminal action." Act 48 also added conduct prohibited under 942.095 to the definition of invasion of privacy in Wis. Stat. 995.50(2)(am)4., the state's right-of-privacy statute.

For someone being threatened right now, our sextortion scams guide explains reporting and image-removal options. Wisconsin's crimes for sharing intimate images are covered on revenge porn laws by state, and its rules on AI-generated sexual images on Wisconsin deepfake laws.

Related offenses people confuse with extortion

Robbery (943.32). Robbery is taking property "from the person or presence of the owner" with intent to steal, either by using force to overcome resistance or "by threatening the imminent use of force against the person of the owner or of another who is present with intent thereby to compel the owner to acquiesce in the taking or carrying away of the property." It is a Class E felony.

Extortionate extension of credit (943.28). Wisconsin's loan-sharking statute defines an extortionate means as "any means which involves the use, or an express or implicit threat of use, of violence or other criminal means to cause harm to the person, reputation or property of any person." Making an extortionate extension of credit, or conspiring to do so where a party to the conspiracy acts to effect its object, is a Class F felony.

Synthetic intimate images used to coerce (942.09). Except as provided in 942.09(2)(dr), it is a Class I felony to post, publish, distribute, or exhibit "a synthetic intimate representation of an identifiable person with intent to coerce, harass, or intimidate that person" (942.09(2)(am)4.). That offense concerns actually sharing the image; 942.095 concerns the threat.

Fraud and scams. Schemes that obtain money by deception rather than threats are covered on Wisconsin scam and fraud laws.

Federal law also reaches threats and extortion that cross state lines; see the extortion laws by state hub.

Recent changes

• 2025 Wisconsin Act 215 (enacted April 8, 2026; published April 9, 2026; effective April 10, 2026 under Wis. Stat. 991.11, as the act states no effective date of its own) created the civil action for sexual extortion, Wis. Stat. 895.439.
• 2025 Wisconsin Act 48 (2025 Assembly Bill 201; enacted December 8, 2025; published December 9, 2025; effective December 10, 2025 under Wis. Stat. 991.11, as the act states no effective date of its own) created the sexual extortion crime, Wis. Stat. 942.095.
• 943.31 was last amended by 2015 Wisconsin Act 335, and 943.30 by 2001 Wisconsin Act 109.

Related Wisconsin pages

• Extortion and blackmail laws by state
• Wisconsin theft laws
• Wisconsin deepfake laws
• Wisconsin scam and fraud laws
• Sextortion scams: what to do if you are targeted

This article provides general legal information about Wisconsin criminal and civil statutes as of October 17, 2026. It is not legal advice. For advice about a specific situation, contact a lawyer licensed in Wisconsin.

Last updated: October 17, 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is blackmail illegal in Wisconsin?

Yes, although no Wisconsin offense is named blackmail. Maliciously threatening to communicate information, true or false, that would humiliate or injure someone's reputation, with intent to extort money or any pecuniary advantage or to compel an act, is a Class I felony under Wis. Stat. 943.31.

Is extortion a felony in Wisconsin?

Yes. Threats to injure or accuse of crime (943.30) is a Class H felony, up to 6 years, a fine of up to $10,000, or both, and threats to communicate derogatory information (943.31) is a Class I felony, up to 3 years 6 months, a fine of up to $10,000, or both, whatever the amount demanded. An attempt to commit a Class I felony is generally a Class A misdemeanor (939.32).

Is it extortion to threaten to report someone to the police unless they pay?

Wis. Stat. 943.30(1) lists a malicious threat to accuse another of any crime or offense, made with intent to extort money or any pecuniary advantage or to compel an act. The section's text contains no claim-of-right exception; 943.245(7) separately states that a person is not criminally liable under 943.30 for a civil action brought in good faith under that worthless-check section.

Is it a crime to threaten to post a bad review or embarrassing information unless someone pays?

Wis. Stat. 943.31 covers maliciously threatening, with intent to extort money or any pecuniary advantage or to compel an act, to disseminate information, whether true or false, that would humiliate or injure the reputation of the threatened person or another. It is a Class I felony.

Is sextortion a crime in Wisconsin?

Yes. Under Wis. Stat. 942.095, created by 2025 Wisconsin Act 48, threatening to distribute an intimate representation of another person to coerce sexual conduct, another image, payment or any act against their will is a Class I felony, rising to Class H, G or B in the circumstances the statute lists, including the victim's age and the age gap, compliance, harm, or the victim's death. Coercing a child to engage in sexually explicit conduct for recording is separately sexual exploitation of a child under Wis. Stat. 948.05, generally a Class C felony.

Can a sextortion victim sue in Wisconsin?

Yes. Wis. Stat. 895.439 gives a person who suffers physical injury, emotional distress, or loss of property by reason of conduct prohibited under 942.095 a civil cause of action, and allows a wrongful death action where the conduct was a substantial causal factor in a suicide, regardless of any criminal case.